Academia Sinica to probe work of researcher accused of misconduct

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Taipei, Academia Sinica President James C. Liao (???) said Monday the academic institution will examine research papers published in Taiwan by a former research fellow following accusations by a university in the United States that he falsified research data.

Liao was referring to a case involving cancer scientist Chen Ching-shih (???), a former director of Academia Sinica's Institute of Biological Chemistry from 2014-2017, who has been accused of misconduct in the publication of eight academic papers from 2006-2014 during his tenure as a cancer researcher at Ohio State University (OSU) in the U.S.

According to an OSU report released last Friday, Chen was found guilty of "deviating from the accepted practices of image handling and figure generation and intentionally falsifying data" in 14 instances in eight papers, the American academic journal Science said on its website that same day.

The report recommends that Chen work with co-authors and journals to produce an "immediate retraction" of those eight papers, published between 2006 and 2014.

Liao said Academia Sinica values highly academic ethics and integrity and its Research Ethics Committee will investigate research papers published by Chen in Taiwan in accordance with established regulations.

Liao said that Chen's alleged misconduct occurred before he became head of Academia Sinica's Institute of Biological Chemistry in August 2014 and OSU has published a complete report on its findings in the case that led to Chen's resignation as a cancer researcher from the university in September last year.

One month earlier, he stepped down as director of Academia Sinica's Institute of Biological Chemistry in Taiwan.

Chen, who is currently a visiting professor at China Medical University in Taichung and a principal investigator for Academia Sinica's Institute of Biological Chemistry, on Saturday resigned from the latter post.

Asked whether Academia Sinica will seek the repayment of salary and research grants paid to Chen, Liao said any further action will be determined by its Research Ethics Committee in accordance with exiting rules and regulations.

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